Edinburgh University give library card to cat

The library card issued to Jordan the cat.

Jordan has turned his back on his Catholic friar owners and adopted Edinburgh University library as his main residence.

The feline has his own Facebook page set up by students with 6,100 “likes”.

And now the black and white pet has been made “official” by getting a card for the library, complete with a photo and 2017 expiry date.

The eight-year-old came to the Catholic chaplaincy as a kitten but never took to life as a mouse catcher with men of the cloth.

Despite being named after a 12th Century saint, Jordan preferred the company of trendy young students - and an easy life in the well-heated library.

Every day, Jordan leaves the friary and crosses Edinburgh’s leafy George Square in the old town, to the university’s main library.

There, he enjoys being petted by students from across the globe, and even has a favourite turquoise chair near the door.

Students say he helps them to relax before exams, and the Facebook page set up in his honour has more than 6,000 Likes.

He only returns to the friary for a daily main meal.

Caroline Stirling, 37, is a supervisor at the library help desk.

She said: “He is really popular. He has been coming in for at least a year.

“External users can use the library - he has his own reference card. Someone at the helpdesk made up the card with a photo.

He doesn’t have to have it with him when he comes in. He just tends to come in and sleep on the chairs near the door. I think everyone quite likes him.

Student Heidi Karjalainen, 22, said: “Everyone knows Jordan. It’s lovely how he is always in those seats inside the library. It’s like stress relief. He’s like the substitute for my cat at home in Finland.”

Father Dermott Martin, one of four friars at the chaplaincy, said: “He ignores us when he sees us in the square.

“He ignores us indoors as well unless he wants feeding.”

“You’ve got a lot of international students here and the appeal of a cat is domestic. It makes them feel more at home. The students say its stress relieving because he’s in the library when they study.”